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Merck (MRK) to Acquire Afferent in Deal Worth Up To $1.25B
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Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK - Free Report) announced its intention to acquire privately held biotech company Afferent Pharmaceuticals in a deal which could see the company paying up to $1.25 billion.
Deal to Add Chronic Cough Treatment to Pipeline
With the completion of this acquisition, Merck will add Afferent’s lead pipeline candidate, AF-219, to its pipeline. AF-219 is in a phase IIb study for the treatment of refractory, chronic cough as well as a phase II study in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with cough.
Afferent had presented data on AF-219 last month at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference. Results from the first cohort of a two cohort-phase IIb dose-escalation study showed that AF-219 significantly reduced cough frequency. Data from the second cohort, which is evaluating lower doses, will be presented at a future congress.
According to information provided by the company in its press release, chronic cough is estimated to affect about 10% of adults in the U.S. With no approved therapies for the treatment of chronic cough, there is significant unmet need in this area.
Afferent has another candidate in its pipeline - AF-130 – which completed phase I development and is slated to move into phase II studies for non-respiratory conditions.
Merck Could Pay Up To $1.25 Billion
While Merck will be making an upfront payment of $500 million, the company could make additional payments of up to $750 million on the achievement of development and commercial milestones for multiple indications and candidates including AF-219. The acquisition is scheduled to close in the third quarter of the year.
The deal is in line with Merck’s efforts to boost its pipeline and bring new products to market. Earlier this year, Merck had acquired IOmet, a privately-held UK-based drug discovery company focused on the development of cancer treatments, with an emphasis on cancer immunotherapy and cancer metabolism.
Merck has more than 10 candidates in phase III development and recently got a favorable FDA panel recommendation (10-5 with one abstention) for Zinplava (bezlotoxumab) for the prevention of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection recurrence in patients aged 18 years and older. A final response from the FDA should be out by Jul 23.
Merck is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. Some better-ranked stocks in the large-cap pharma sector include Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY - Free Report) , Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) . While Bristol-Myers and Pfizer are Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks, Johnson & Johnson is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock.
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Merck (MRK) to Acquire Afferent in Deal Worth Up To $1.25B
Merck & Co. Inc. (MRK - Free Report) announced its intention to acquire privately held biotech company Afferent Pharmaceuticals in a deal which could see the company paying up to $1.25 billion.
Deal to Add Chronic Cough Treatment to Pipeline
With the completion of this acquisition, Merck will add Afferent’s lead pipeline candidate, AF-219, to its pipeline. AF-219 is in a phase IIb study for the treatment of refractory, chronic cough as well as a phase II study in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) with cough.
Afferent had presented data on AF-219 last month at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference. Results from the first cohort of a two cohort-phase IIb dose-escalation study showed that AF-219 significantly reduced cough frequency. Data from the second cohort, which is evaluating lower doses, will be presented at a future congress.
According to information provided by the company in its press release, chronic cough is estimated to affect about 10% of adults in the U.S. With no approved therapies for the treatment of chronic cough, there is significant unmet need in this area.
Afferent has another candidate in its pipeline - AF-130 – which completed phase I development and is slated to move into phase II studies for non-respiratory conditions.
Merck Could Pay Up To $1.25 Billion
While Merck will be making an upfront payment of $500 million, the company could make additional payments of up to $750 million on the achievement of development and commercial milestones for multiple indications and candidates including AF-219. The acquisition is scheduled to close in the third quarter of the year.
The deal is in line with Merck’s efforts to boost its pipeline and bring new products to market. Earlier this year, Merck had acquired IOmet, a privately-held UK-based drug discovery company focused on the development of cancer treatments, with an emphasis on cancer immunotherapy and cancer metabolism.
Merck has more than 10 candidates in phase III development and recently got a favorable FDA panel recommendation (10-5 with one abstention) for Zinplava (bezlotoxumab) for the prevention of Clostridium difficile (C. difficile) infection recurrence in patients aged 18 years and older. A final response from the FDA should be out by Jul 23.
Merck is a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) stock. Some better-ranked stocks in the large-cap pharma sector include Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY - Free Report) , Pfizer Inc. (PFE - Free Report) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ - Free Report) . While Bristol-Myers and Pfizer are Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) stocks, Johnson & Johnson is a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) stock.
Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report >>